1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to a method for storing and printing an image with computer graphics apparatus and, more specifically, to a method for storing and printing an image utilizing computer graphics apparatus of the type having a non-reentrant operating system.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Computer graphics apparatus of a type with which the user may create a variety of images such as bar graphs, charts, etc. depending upon the particular applications program utilized are well known in the art. Such computer graphics apparatus are generally utilized in combination with a number of different peripheral devices such as an input keyboard, a video display terminal for viewing the images created and a printer to provide a hard copy of the image created by the user and displayed on the video display terminal. A variety of printers such as ink jet, thermal or photographic may be utilized in a well-known manner to provide the hard copy of the image displayed by the video display terminal upon the depression of an appropriate image saving request key on the keyboard. Since the image selected to be printed and displayed by the video display terminal is ordinarily stored in a random access memory, the applications program must provide for the printer to immediately provide the hard copy upon the print request by the user since the printer utilizes the bit mapped image data stored at that instant in the random access memory in order to make the hard copy. However, as a result of the long operating times for some printers to provide a hard copy, it may be preferable to transfer the bit mapped image data from the random access memory to an external storage medium such as a floppy disk in which the bit mapped image data may be saved for subsequent printing into a hard copy at the termination of the applications program.
For computer graphics systems of the type which utilize an operating system which is generally characterized as being non-reentrant, it is not possible to interrupt the operating system to immediately transfer bit mapped image data from the random access memory to the floppy disk. Therefore, the user is unable to make a hard copy with the printer after the termination of the applications program since the bit mapped image data which defines the image to be printed cannot be stored on the floppy disk.
Therefore, it is a primary object of this invention to provide a method for storing and printing an image utilizing a computer graphics system of the type having a non-reentrant operating system wherein bit mapped image data may be transferred to an external permanent memory storage medium from which the bit mapped image data may be subsequently recalled for printing into a hard copy.
Other objects of the invention will be in part obvious and will in part appear hereinafter. The invention accordingly comprises a mechanism and system possessing a construction, combination of elements and arrangement of parts which are exemplified in the following detailed disclosure.